Silent Warmth
by kireiRei
Summary: Girls are sent to the guys for training... but both sides learn things they never knew before... new character... and finally a new chapter!!
1. Default Chapter

Silent Warmth  
Note: I LOVE TROWA! ^^ and as much as I despise pairing some of the boys with the girls... I have no choice in this one... it'll make my life easier if they're all straight.  
Disclaimer: Unfortunately... I do not own him... although I can control him in my stories... I do not own him OR any of the other hot Gundam Wing guys... and thank goodness I don't own the girls. -.-;;  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"You're kidding," Heero muttered aloud in monotone. Quatre looked up from the book he was reading on the couch.  
"What's wrong Heero?" the blonde arabian asked. The perfect soldier said nothing and just simply stared at his laptop. Wufei casually glanced over as he walked past Heero.  
"It's an e-mail... I think it shocked him," he remarked. Heero glared over his shoulder and motioned for the boys to come read it. Duo discarded his deck of cards and bounded over. Trowa awoke from his trance of staring into the night storm through the window.  
"So what's the problem? We should've expected a new member to join our team," Duo said after reading the first half of the letter. Wufei's eyes darkened.  
"It's going to be a women you fool!" he chastised. Duo's eyes bugged. Quatre looked confused.  
"What's wrong with that? It's a little dangerous but still..." he asked. Wufei and Heero glared at him.  
"A weak woman will only hold us back," Wufei answered shortly. Duo put on a puzzled look.  
"But they would never assign a weak woman would they?" he challenged. Heero pulled at Duo's hair.  
"If you're going to read, read the whole thing. We have to help her train," Heero spoke for the first time. Duo's face paled a little bit.  
"So what if we have to help her train? We train with each other all the time? There's nothing wrong with that!," Quatre insisted. He turned to Trowa. "What do you think, Trowa?"  
Trowa who had been quietly listening, did not look up. He spoke, "Why bother complaining? If she's been assigned to us, we have no choice but to accept it. It's pointless to think otherwise. We'll just have to do what we're told and try to deal with her."  
The four guys sighed and knew Trowa's words were true. "When will she be arriving?" Quatre asked. It would be wise to freshen up the guest room before she arrived.   
The doorbell rang. "Now," Heero answered. The guys all stared at each other and none of them made a movement toward the door that was within their sight. The bell rang again, again, and again. Still no one moved. They all jumped when they started to hear viscious bangs coming from the wooden door. Quatre made to go open it but Heero grabbed his wrist. Just then, the door burst open. A wet clad hooded-figure emerged with three suit cases and a bag swung over one shoulder. The person slipped back the hood, revealing dark firey amber eyes hidden behind glasses, smooth flawless lightly tanned skin, and messy wet black hair piled into an equally messy bun. She wore a heavy red sweater that made her look tinier because it was wet and baggy wet blue jeans. She might've been pretty, had she not been glaring at them angrily. In graceful long strides, she bounded towards them.  
"Is this how you greet people that you generally don't know? Well I think that is rather rude! Never mind what you have to say about it!" she snapped the last part at Duo who was about to speak. Her eyes flashed. "I'm not any more happier about this arrangement than I assume any of you to be. I despise men, so naturally I despise you. Leave me alone and I'll leave you alone. Now show me where I am to sleep because if I stay in these wet things any longer I'll catch a cold! And we wouldn't want that to happen do we?" She said all this with much deliberance and the last part sarcastically.  
"Listen you woman-" Wufei started but she cut him off.  
"No, YOU listen. I'd much rather be called by my name, which is KI. I don't appreciate names that diminish my gender into common sluts. Now if you please, can I be shown to my room?"  
"F-follow me..." Quatre stuttered, not wanting to anger her. She was obviously in bad spirits. They started up the stairs.  
"Need any help with the luggage?" Duo asked. Ki looked down at him from the steps.  
"Thanks but no thanks," she said, not unkindly but not very nicely either.  
When she was out of sight, Duo turned to the guys. "Well... isn't she an interesting creature?" he tried to joke. Wufei gave him another glare.  
"I don't like her," he promptly stated.  
Heero sat quietly and decided she wouldn't be as terrible as Wufei made her out to be.  
Trowa stared back at the rain with crossed arms. He had a feeling that she'd fit right in. A small smile played across his lips. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
The next morning, Ki awoke early, right after the sun had rose. She sat up on her huge bed and stretched. She remembered last night's events and stifled a giggle and sighed. Ki admitted openly to herself that she had been rather rash. But she had been very upset to leave her training class in her hometown. She decided to make amends by making breakfast. She got up, put on her glasses, threw on a pair of long sweats and a white sweatshirt over a white tank top. Those were the only kind of clothes she bothered buying. Her footwear consisted of sneakers that were worn until they could no longer keep water out adequately. She pulled the elastic from her hair, but kept it up with her free hand. She reached over her dresser, gave her hair a few quick brushes, then tied it back into the bun.  
She quietly tip-toed down the stairs and slipped into the spacious kitchen.   
  
Trowa who had fallen asleep by the window, woke up when he the smell of delicious breakfast aromas reached his nose. His ears perked up at the sound of sizzling sausages on a pan and the gentle tinkling of kitchenware. He silently walked over to the kitchen. He looked in and saw Ki busying herself over a pan of eggs. He watched her swiftly place a plate on the dining table with a grilled cheese sandwich, two eggs, and two sausages. She turned back to the eggs that were still cooking. An oil bubble popped out and she winced, bringing one hand to her mouth. Trowa quickly walked over and gently took her hurt hand to look at it. Ki stared at him.  
"Are you all right?" Trowa asked her. She nodded numbly. She found herself staring into green eyes full of every kind of emotion. Ki pulled her hand back and brought her attention back to the eggs.  
"Who're you?" she asked. She hadn't recalled seeing him last night. He must've been the one concealed by the window. The good-looking guy sat at one of the chairs that had a full plate sitting there.  
"Trowa... Trowa Barton..." he answered. He pointed at the food. "Can I eat this?"  
"If you can digest food like a proper human go right ahead," Ki retorted, flipping the eggs to a plate. She glanced at him and thought she saw a small smile flicker across his face as he picked up a fork. A friendly silence set in, only to be taken away when Duo and Wufei arrived.  
Duo's face lit up at the sight of good food. Wufei gave a simple but reluctant look of approval. Ki smiled slightly, which did great to improve her appearance. "Ohayo nasai... please eat," she said politely. Duo bounded over like a puppy and almost immediately. He started eating like a pig and noisily. Ki stared at him. He was cute but his manners were atroscious. Wufei composed himself and ate with painstaking precise movements.  
"Ha! There are some advantages to having a woman in the house!!" Duo exclaimed with a full mouth. Ki glared at him and hit him over the head with a frying pan. He fell over. Heero arrived at the scene the moment Duo was hit.  
"What'd the braided baka do this time?" he asked, though he pretty much knew the answer. Wufei answered anyway.  
"What else? He spoke," he said. Quatre entered the kitchen, smiled at Ki gratefully, then sat down to eat.  
Seeing that all the guys were being fed, Ki started to leave the room. "Aren't you eating Ki-san?" Quatre asked. Ki looked over her shoulder and saw Heero's and Wufei's impassive faces.  
"No thanks... I already ate," she said quickly and headed back upstairs.  
After she was out of earshot, Duo glared at the rest of them. "We should at least TRY to be amiable!" he demanded.  
"Shut up, you're the one who got hit with a frying pan by her," Heero growled. The rest of breakfast was silent.  
  
Ki was typing rapidly away on her notebook computer when she heard a knock at her door. "Come in," she said mechanically. Quatre entered. Ki looked up without lifting her head.  
"I have your school uniform. You start today, you know," he said nicely.  
"Uniform?" she questioned. He held up a uniform that consisted of a white pleated skirt. Her eyes slightly bugged. Quatre looked worried.  
"Is there something wrong?"  
"That's a skirt... I don't wear skirts..."  
"I'm sorry Ki-san... but that's the rule according to the dress code rule book."  
"Let me see that stupid book."  
  
The four boys waited patiently, well some impatiently, for Ki to come down. "What's taking her so long?" Wufei demanded. They looked up as Quatre came down the stairs looking defeated.  
"What's wrong Quatre?" Duo asked. "Where's Ki?"  
"I'm right here," came the sharp reply. The boys, except Quatre stared at her somewhat shocked. She was dressed in the boys' uniform and her hair was neatly placed in a bun. Smartly holding her schoolbag in one hand, she breezed past them.  
"Let's go," and she went through the door. The boys stared at Quatre. He shrugged helplessly.  
"She doesn't wear skirts," he replied simply, then followed Ki's example.  
"She'll be the end of us at school!" Wufei muttered.  
  
"Class, this is Yumeno Ki. She is relatively new here, so please treat her kindly," said the defeated teacher. The poor woman tried to get Ki to wear the standard girl's uniform, but Ki had stubbornly refused, pointing out that there was nothing in the rule book about girls wearing boys' uniforms. "Now... where to place you..." the teacher muttered. The five pilots assumed that she would sit by one of them, considering she had arrived with them but...  
"Place her next to me, sensei. I've known her for years," said a jaunty boy's voice. Ki's amber eyes lit up at the sight of a black haired boy with mischievous gray eyes.  
"Yoshi-kun!" she exclaimed in surprise. Her five housemates stared in shock as the first smile since her arrival graced her face.   
"Well then... I suppose there would be nothing wrong with that. Yumeno-san... go sit behind Yoki-san," the teacher decided.  
The morning's lesson flew by quickly and it was finally lunchtime. The teacher had barely left, when this 'Yoshi-kun' spun around, placing his bento box on her desk.  
"Rei-chan! What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.  
A voice behind him repeated, "Rei-chan?"  
Kirei looked up and saw the five boys standing behind her friend. "Oh... hey guys..." Her smile flickered slightly. "I suppose you know your classmate Yoki Yoshira?"  
The guys nodded and placed themselves around the two. Ki flustered a bit. Quatre started off nicely.  
"How do you two know each other?" he asked. Ki gave Yoshira a glare.  
"He was my neighbor when we were kids... he ran over my favorite doll with his bike,"she answered. Yoshira smiled unfazed.  
"Yes, and you cried profusely as you chased me with your doll's carriage lifted high in one hand," he shot back. Ki felt heat rise to her face with embarassment. Duo and Quatre laughed, Trowa's face seemed amused, and Heero and Wufei looked on mildly interested. None of them could imagine Ki playing with doll's or crying.  
"You haven't changed one bit!" Ki said in a frustrated voice. Yoshira put on what he thought was a sweet smile.  
"Neither have you, manly one. Why am I not surprised to see you in a boy's uniform? Though, back in the day you normally dressed like a girl."  
Right then the five guys chose to leave the two alone. They moved into a corner and watched her like hawks.  
Ki's face darkened and she lowered her head. "A lot of things have changed since then..." she said bitterly. Yoshira took her hand.  
"I'm sorry... I should've been there for you," he said regretfully. Ki shook her head.   
"No... it was better that you weren't there," she said decidedly. She brightened up. "Well what's the use.. it's the past. Let's eat!"  
She started to undo his bento box. "Where's your lunch??" Yoshira demanded. She smiled at him sweetly and girlishly.  
"Yoshi-kun... c'mon... we shared lunches all the time," she said mischievously. Yoshira blushed.  
From the back the boys watched Ki and Yoshira laugh and joke. "She must be weak... to keep all emotions..." Wufei muttered.  
"No... it's a mask... a mask of smiles... but inside a face of vengeance," Trowa said quietly. He gazed at Ki with brilliant green eyes. 'She knows what it is to suffer,' he thought. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
Weeks passed by since Ki's arrival. At home the boys went about their usual business, having to go on solo missions every now and then. Ki usually stayed holed up in her room because none of the boys had made any attempts to include her. She came down only to make then their meals then went back up, never eating in front of them. She only came to life when she was at school, talking with Yoshira.  
She was brushing her hair out after a shower in her fluffy white robe when there was a knock at the door. "Come in," she said in a reluctant voice. Trowa entered.  
"I came to tell you that-"Trowa stopped in midsentence when he look at Ki. She finally looked like a normal girl. Her robe's hem reached to mid-thigh, showing off her slim muscular and well curved pale legs. Between the folds of her robe he could see a modest bit of cleavage. But the object of his attention was her lustrous black hair. He couldn't believe that she was able to hide so much hair when she put it up. It fell in long soft thick tresses down towards her hips.  
"Stop looked at me like that," Ki demanded sharply. Trowa felt heat rising to his face. Was he blushing?  
"I came to tell you that you and I have a partnership mission," he informed. She looked surprised. It would be her first real mission.  
"When do we leave?" she asked.  
"The day after tomorrow. You'll need to pack in a dress as well. There will be a dinner party," he said briskly. Ki turned red.  
"A dress?? Dammit... I haven't worn one.. since..." she trailed off and turned away, not wanting to spill any personal information.  
"We'll be spending tomorrow to train... we won't be going to school."  
"Great..." she said in a sarcastic voice.  
Something inside Trowa suddenly wanted to comfort her, even though she wasn't in tears. He wanted to tell her everything would be all right. "Ki.." he started but she interrupted him.  
"Kirei," she corrected. He looked at her questioningly.  
"Might as well start getting used to it... My name's Kirei... and that is what you shall call me during the mission," she said briskly.  
"Is that your real name?" he asked her before he could stop himself. He noticed that she had turned her back to him.  
"It WAS my real name. Now if you please... I would like to finish getting dressed. If anything, we should start training today," came a voice that was talking coldly. Quietly, Trowa left the room. A tear slid down Ki's cheek and dropped to the floor.  
  
Trowa waited for Ki patiently in the training room. Heero, Duo, Wufei, and Quatre were also there to watch. They wanted to see how bad she was. They didn't have much faith in her. The door opened at Ki entered. They all stared. Since when did Ki look so... womanly?  
She wore a soft yellow tank top that seemed very light, yet kept close to the curves of her body, her cleavage was barely visible and enticed the male eye. She wore trim white pants that reached to midcalf and wore her usual slippers. Her hair was tied up high into a ponytail but still reached her lower back.  
"Take a damn picture. It lasts longer," Ki snapped when she noticed them all staring. Trowa snapped himself out of his reverie.  
"Do you know how to fight?" he asked her. He meant it simply as a question but she took it as an insult.   
"If I wasn't able to fight, I wouldn't be here now would I?" she bit back. Unexpected, she threw at him a kick and landed it square in is gut. Trowa quickly recovered and threw a few punches. She dodged all but one and reeled back. Ki glared at him. She leapt at him with a kick. He raised his arms to shield but got some of the blow anyway. Then he did that awesome jump, twirl thingy (A/N: =L Trowa...) and grabbed her from behind. She flipped him over, much to the surprise of the standbyers. Trowa didn't falter. He immediately struck with a punch, only to be punched back. This went on for a while... and kept going... and going.. until...  
Trowa puts his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath, while Ki placed a hand on the wall to stay standing. "Dammit... Can't you just fall already?" she snarled. Despite his situation, a small smile settled on Trowa's face. Bad idea. Ki thought he was mocking her and with the last bit of energy she could muster she hurled herself at him and knocked him down. "Good.. now just.. stay down..." she tried to say before she collapsed to the floor. The Duo and Quatre rushed over to the two but Heero and Wufei casually stood up. Trowa sat up first and smiled. Ki grudgingly propped herself up on two elbows.  
"Damn you... I hate men..." she muttered. She stood up and listlessly left the room.  
The guys stared off at her in surprise. "How can she say she hates men when she has that friend of hers at school?" Wufei demanded.  
Trowa didn't say anything. His gaze stayed steady. No... It wasn't that she hated men. He could see that she could not bring herself to trust them. All her emotions were hidden behind a mask. Only Yoshira could bring them out. But why of all things... did Trowa himself want to bring out Ki's emotions? 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
Trowa and Ki left the day afterwards. They travelled in a limousine supplied by Quatre. The trip required Ki to behave like a normal woman, which she did with much objection. Hence, Trowa and Ki soon arrived at the hotel. Trowa walked up to the residence desk dressed in a business suit. Ki waited by their luggage, dressed smartly in a gray slacks and white blouse, though it didn't do much to change her appearance.  
"Saito...I believe my fiancee and I have reservations in a honeymoon suite for this weekend?" he said to the receptionist. The receptionist looked down her book.  
"Hmm.. let's see... ah yes... Saito... Taka Saito?" she asked. Trowa nodded and took the room key which was a card rather than a key. After thanking the woman's service, he went back to Ki who had heard everything.  
"Honeymoon suite??" she questioned, with a very unhappy look on her face.  
"That's our cover... fortunately... you get to keep your name for this mission," he answered. He reached for his bags but Ki stopped him.  
"Don't bother," she said. She expertly lifted a hand and two bellboys came to bring up their bags. Ki turned back to Trowa and put on a sweet smile. "Shall we, Taka-kun?" she said in an equally sweet voice, that held no trace of disgust. He nodded dumbfoundedly. She was pretty good at acting her part. He felt something link around his arm. He looked down and saw her arm entwined with his. He blushed.  
"Umm.. l-l-let's go s-sweetie?..." he stammered. Ki coughed to cover up her laughing.  
  
They entered their room. Ki did not notice the size because the mansion she lived in with the guys was admirable on it's own, but she did notice something else. "Umm.. Taka-kun... there's only... one bed," she observed. This fact however, was not amiss from Trowa either.  
"Would you rather I slept on the floor Kirei?" Trowa asked. Ki shrugged.  
"It doesn't really matter... it's not like we're going to actually do anything anyway," she commented. He had to admit, she had a point. Trowa casually glanced at his watch.  
"We have enough time to get a good look around before the rest of the dinner guests get here. That should give us enough time to look around..." he said. Ki nodded and sighed.  
"I suppose I'll need to get into the clothes that I wished I had burned," she said unhappily, as she grabbed a few things from her suitcase.  
"I'll wait for you downstairs and start scoping for any locations an assassin might hide in."  
"Alright.."  
  
Trowa patiently waited for Ki to come down. But instead of scoping out locations, he was thinking about Ki. Her real name was Kirei... that explained why Yoshira was always calling her Rei-chan. He wondered why she didn't want to be called Kirei though. Yumeno Kirei... He smiled. Her name meant Beauty of Dreams.   
"Taka-kun~!" a particularly sweet voice echoed up from the stairs. He looked up and did a double take. Indeed her name did her no justice! Since when did grubby, messy-haired, and detached Ki look... fresh, soft-haired, and bursting with energy?? She stepped gracefully down the steps in a white peasant blouse with ribbon trims, a soft cream flaring skirt that reached her knees, and white slippered feet. Her once unmanageable mane of darkness transformed in to smooth silky tresses that found ways out of the loose braid it was bound in.  
Trowa couldn't find himself doing anything but staring at her. It was a good thing too. Ki couldn't exactly help admiring his good looks either. 'WHAT A BODY HE MUST HAVE!!' she screamed to herself. He was so cool and composed but not like Heero. Heero was creepy composed, Trowa was sexy and HOT composed. She mentally slapped herself. What was she thinking?? Thoughts like that over her own housemate were subject to become weaknesses. She wished he'd stop staring at her like she was a stranger that had just done something strange. She gave him a LOOK.  
"You... look... pretty," Trowa said in an astonished voice. Ki stifled a giggle. He looked so surprised. But she never thought she was pretty so she decided he must be delusional.  
"It's amazing what some make-up can do, eh?" she said off- handedly.  
"But you're not wearing any," he said quietly. Ki pretended she hadn't heard, linked arms with him, and started marching them off.  
"So who's supposed to be the assassin's target?" she asked in a hushed voice.  
"Relena," Trowa answered shortly. He saw the look of distaste flicker upon her face. Last time the princess had visited the boys, she and Ki weren't exactly taken up with each other. Relena figured that Ki was just a rude tomboy and Ki stubbornly believed that Relena was a close-minded bitch.  
"Can't she just keep herself out of freakin' trouble," Ki muttered. Trowa stifled a chuckle. The princess of the Sanc Kingdom was always getting into trouble. "Is there more than one assassin? Or a whole bunch to make sure the job's done?"  
Trowa thought for a moment. "I'm pretty sure there'll be at least two," he answered. Ki nodded.  
"Then we've definitely got to consider that there will be at least one with us in the ballroom where the dinner party is going to take place. Some other might disguise themselves as caterers or waiters and others might be set to target outside windows," she decided. Trowa nodded. Ki definitely knew her stuff... but then again, you could never be too sure.  
  
They went back to their room a two hours before the party was to begin. Ki took her shower first, then Trowa. After he was done, he got dressed in his dark forest green tuxedo and was pushed out of the room by Ki.  
"I won't have you rushing me," she said brusquely and shut the door and locked it. Sighing, Trowa leaned against the wall opposite from the door and waited. A while later, Ki finally emerged. Trowa looked up and lost his balance. Ki looked down at him slightly amused with a small smile playing on her lips.  
"How do I look?" she asked, complacently. Trowa just stared. Her skin looked remarkably white and vibrant, making her look taller and slimmer. She wore a gown of deep emerald green satin that was strapless although she hid it well with her matching wrap. Around her waist was a ribbon of darker green that attached to the full A-line skirt that gave a deception of being wrapped around. At the side the ribbon was tied into a bow. Her lustrous black hair was put up in a small bun, with long ringlets cascading down upon her shoulders. She wore a simple gold chain around her smooth neck.  
"N-nice..." Trowa stammered, not really sure of how to compliment how beautiful she really looked. She walked closer to him. He involuntarily stepped back.  
"By the way..." she said in a soft voice. He stared into her brown eyes. "You forgot to put on our engagement ring."  
"What??" Trowa exclaimed, forgetting about the mission's cover-up. Kirei sweatdropped and placed a gold band in his hand. "Oh right..." he said, blushing slightly as he put it on. He noted that hers was already on and started walking.  
"AHEM!" Ki coughed loudly. He stopped and turned around. Her hands were on her hips and she gave him a look. He remembered their cover and offered his arm apologetically with a flushed face. She took his arm and they continued walking. She glanced at his face which was back to his normal state. Maybe she was just imagining him blushing...  
  
They entered the ballroom that was decked out with shiny lights and glimmering chandeliers. Ki looked around and caught sight of Relena surrounded by a bunch of gabbing girls, dressed in a pink gown.  
"Your wrap miss?" a voice asked. Ki snapped back to see a servant holding out a hand. She stared at him and he repeated his question.  
"Oh yes.. of course," she said absently and started to extract the wrap from her shoulders. Trowa casually glanced down at her and froze when the removed wrap revealed her "assets."  
"Keep that ON!" he hissed. Ki looked at him with pure shock. Hesitantly, she took back the wrap and secured it around herself again. He quickly steered her towards Relena.  
Along the way Ki glared at him and hissed, "What's your problem?"  
"I'm just acting like the fiance I'm supposed to be," he lied. They reached Relena, who was expecting them.  
"Hello Taka... Ki..rei," Relena greeted the latter with a curt nod. She couldn't believe how pretty Ki was looking. 'All this wasted behind those things she calls clothes', she thought.  
"Why Miss Relena... you're looking positively radiant tonight," Ki said in a simpering sweet voice, dripping condescendingly. Relena gave a sharp glare and forced a smile.  
"As are you Miss Kirei... You certainly don't look like what you usually do," she said through gritted teeth. Trowa sensing the tension quickly intervened.   
"I suppose you have heard of our recent engagement?" he asked in a very forced pleasant voice. Relena calmed down a bit.  
"Of course I have. I congratulate you two... I hope you will be very happy," she said. Ki opened her mouth but Trowa continued to speak.  
"Thank you. Now if you would please excuse us... we have others to meet," he said with the last part enunciated. Relena nodded in understanding. Trowa dragged Ki away to a far corner. "Could you please try not to form any arguments with the princess? We need this evening to go smoothly!" he asked. Ki sighed. It was her fault for pushing the first button.  
"Okay okay... I'm sorry," she said with another sigh. Trowa smiled with relief. When the orchestra started playing, Ki's ears pricked up. She grabbed Trowa's hand. "Dance with me!" she said excitedly. Trowa pulled back.  
"I don't dance..." he mumbled. Ki pulled harder and dragged him out. She placed one hand on his shoulder and waited for him to get into position. Hesitantly, Trowa rested one hand upon the gentle curve of her hip and took her free hand in his. Though neither knew it, they both narrowly escaped blushing in front of each other. Together they waltzed gracefully around the floor.  
After a few moments, Ki dropped her head and whispered, "I think they're here... I think there's two inside and two outside..."  
Trowa nodded. He had noticed too. "I'll go outside... you stay in here, just in case any of the ones in here make a move," he planned. Ki nodded. They let go of each other, somewhat reluctantly. Trowa headed outside with an excuse of finding a restroom and Kirei sat down at a table near Relena.  
  
Outside Trowa stealthily moved through the fancy trimmed bushes and shrubs with his gun, that he had hid underneath his tuxedo jacket. He cautiously turned over one corner and saw a man garbed in all black pointing a gun with attached laser through the open window. He looked up and saw another figure up on higher ground with a sniper. 'Dammit... Which to kill first....' Trowa thought to himself. His ear pricked up. He silently but swiftly turned around and punched into a guy who was dressed like a guest of the party and had a gun in his hand. The man fell unconscious. Trowa quietly bound him up and took his gun. This made his mission a bit easier. He stepped out from the corner and pointed one gun towards the sniper, the other to the window guy and shot. They both fell dead. Sighing, he turned around to make sure Ki was doing all right.  
  
Inside Ki observed every single person that came in contact with Relena. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up startled and saw Trowa. He looked down at her. 'One' he mouthed. She understood. There was only one assassin in the ballroom.  
She watched a waiter hand Relena a glass goblet of wine. Ki stood abruptly and knocked the glass out of Relena's hand. It fell the floor and shattered with the rich red wine splashing everywhere. "Kirei??" Relena asked with bewilderment. Ki touched the wine with a finger and sniffed it.  
"Poison..." she said softly in a chilling voice. Relena looked horrified... so did the waiter as Ki slowly advanced on him. Ki pulled the ribbon on her dress. Indeed, the skirt was wrapped around for in revealed that underneath the dress actually finished off with two slits at the side. The waiter pulled a gun on her with a shaking hand. Unfazed, Ki kicked it out of his hands. The man then lunged at her but was stopped by a severe punch in the gut. He fell gagging. Ki just stared at him with cold eyes.  
Trowa stared at Ki. It was as if she was another person. Ki always seemed to be a generally kind person but when she fought seriously, her stature seemed so detached and icy. He walked over to her and gently led her away as the con-waiter was led away by security guards.  
  
Upstairs in their room, Ki tiredly started changingher clothes behind a screen. Before heading into the bathroom, Trowa paused. "You did well," he said and disappeared into the room. From behind the screen Ki sighed. She emerged from the screen and sat at the vanity dresser. She pulled the pins from her hair. Calmly, she brushed her long hair out until it softly shined. When she was finished, she stoof up and eased into the bed.  
"Kirei... you should get some rest.. we're leaving early tomorr-" Trowa was saying until he peeked out and saw her already fast asleep. He smiled and settled himself well distanced beside her and fell asleep. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
Since Ki and Trowa returned home, things went back to the way they were and stayed that way for weeks. There was one little change though. Instead of staying holed up in her room, Ki left the house frequently during a day, coming back only to sleep or change clothes. Every now and then the guys would wonder where she was but usually shrugged it off. They figured she was hanging out with Yoshira.  
One morning, Duo actually asked her where she was going after breakfast. Ki stared at him funny. "I'm hanging out with Yoshi-kun," she answered.  
"Are you two going out or something?" Duo asked. The other four guys started listening. It was getting vaguely interesting. Ki rolled her eyes.  
"We tried that once... and believe me.. NEVER again... we're just friends," she said offhandedly. Duo looked interested.  
"Well... you never know," he started but stopped when Ki shook her head.  
"He's not interested in girls anymore... he goes for guys," she said shortly. The guys stared at her in shock.  
"And you're just telling us this??" Quatre asked with surprise. Ki waved him off.  
"He's open about it. He'd be more than happy to admit it if you ever asked. Well, I got to bounce now. See you guys later," she said as she breezed out of the room. "By the way..." She waited until all the guys started drinking. "He thinks your all hot." The guys spit out their juice and choked. She laughed and left with a satisfied smile.  
"I'm going to hurt that girl," Wufei growled as he wiped his dripping chin.  
  
Late that night, Ki walked home. Yoshira had found some guy, so she had quietly excused herself. 'Damn... who needs relationships... not me!' she thought to herself. She cursed when she tripped over a raised section of sidewalk. "Itai..." she muttered when she found her self sprawled over. She pulled herself up. She cursed when a pain shot through her left ankle when she tried to get up. Bearing the pain, she started to limp her way home.  
  
Trowa glanced up at the clock. It was late... REALLY late... Ki would usually be home around this time. Quatre seemed to be thinking the same thing. "I wonder what's taking Ki... she's usually home by 12..." the blonde said out loud.   
"C'mon... she's probably out partying or something," Duo insisted. Wufei raised an eyebrow.  
"Maxwell.. you know as well as I.. that Ki is NOT the partying girl," he remarked. Duo sighed, knowing the truth. Heero stared at the clock for a while.  
"I think we should go look for her," he suggested. Everybody looked at him surprised.  
"Let's go," Trowa said quietly, as he stood up to put on a jacket. Heero followed. Quatre willingly followed, although Duo and Wufei weren't as glad but for different reasons.  
  
Ki winced everytime she took a step with her left foot. It was always the left ankle that kept getting hurt. As she limped along, she tried to avoid making eye contact with a bunch of rough looking guys at the end of the sidewalk. She cursed silently when they started to approach her. One of them with a thin white scar running down the side of his face spoke.  
"Hey babe... I was just noticing you... and I noticed you noticing me too," he said in a voice that made her toes curl. She glared at him.  
"Obviously your eye sight isn't too sharp. The day I notice you is the day when there's nothing left to fuck," she snapped. The men just laughed. She tried to walk and winced again. Scarface quickly noticed.  
"In pain little lady? Let me make it all better for you," he in what he thought was a soothing voice. He reached for her breast. Without hesitation, Ki punched his face and he reeled back. He cursed and pulled out a small knife. She tried to kick at him but crumpled in pain to the sidewalk cement. The men laughed as the closed in on her.  
She grimaced in disgust when she heard a scratchy voice whisper into her ear, "Be good and we'll make this quick and painless." Disgusted, Ki jerked her elbow back and got whoever that was square in the face. She struggled when she felt her arms being held back roughly. Scarface approached her again. Angrily, she kicked up with her good leg and got him in the crotch.  
"Bitch!" he cursed as he crumpled up. He punched her face. Soon the others were doing the same. Ki choked as she tried to scream. Instead only blood trickled out of her mouth. She started to scream as she felt her shirt being ripped but a hard hand covered her mouth. Tears flowed from her face as she felt disgusting hands roaming all over her body. She writhed unsuccessfully. She tried to scream when she felt her pants being pulled away. Furiously, she bit down on the restraining hand hard. Her mouth was quickly freed and she screamed, "LET ME GO!!!!!!!!"  
She was answered by a harsh slap. She closed her crying eyes. There was nothing she could do. She heard someone yell in pain and fall with a crack. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was a blur of green and blue.  
  
'What's going on? Where the hell am I?' Ki thought to herself wearily. She slowly opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling of her room. 'How did I end up here?' Her eyes suddenly filled up with tears as she remembered what happened. She heard the door open and saw Trowa enter. He looked surprised to see her awake but was glad.  
"You're up. How're you feeling?" he asked as he gently set a tray of food on the table beside her bed. Ki started crying.  
"H-how.. can you even ask when you kn-know?" she sobbed. "I've b-been humiliated and disparaged!!"  
Trowa moved to comfort her but she recoiled. "Ki.. Ki.. don't worry... we got to you before they could really do anything," he tried. She glared at him with tearful eyes.  
"I WAS HALF NAKED BEFORE I BLACKED OUT!!" she yelled. He grabbed her shoulders and refused to let go when she tried to push him away.  
"Look at me Ki.. Look at me," he said gently but firmly. Ki slowly peered up into his emerald eyes with her own soulful brown ones. "They didn't get you... they failed in trying to rape you."  
Ki looked into his eyes with wet eyes. "Really?" she whispered. He nodded. With another sob, she threw her arms around him and buried her face into his warm chest. "Trowa... I was so afraid... I was so scared," she cried, her voice muffled. He wrapped his arms around her comfortingly and soothed her until she fell asleep from exhaustion. With a sad sigh, Trowa tucked her back in and reluctantly left the room.  
He trudged down the stairs and went into the living room to join the guys. "She woke up," he announced. They all looked up.  
"How is she?" Quatre asked worriedly.  
"Weak, upset, and ashamed... she's sleeping again right now," Trowa answered. Wufei glared at nothing in particular in rage.  
"You should've let me kill those bastards! They nearly dishonored her honor!! IT'S INJUSTICE!" he said angrily. Duo smiled a bit.  
"So the Wu-man does care!" he exclaimed. The chinese boy glared at the braided one.  
Heero said nothing. He was busy with his laptop. He opened up a profiles' search program and typed in 'Yumeno... Kirei.'  
  
Ki woke up in the middle of the night feeling thirsty. She pulled the covers off of her and sat up somewhat painfully. "Ow..." she moaned.  
"I wouldn't do that," came a masculine voice sharply. Ki nearly fell off the bed in shock. Focusing she could make out Heero's silhouette.  
"What are you doing in my room?" she demanded. Heero glared at her.  
"Watching over you, what else? Go back to bed," he muttered.  
"I'm thirsty!" Ki protested. Heero handed her a glass of water from her bedside table. Giving him a dark look, she snatched the glass and chugged it down. She placed it back to its original spot and laid back down. "You don't look like you want to be here," she remarked.  
"Trowa stayed up too long watching over you... he needed his rest. 'Sides believe it or not... I volunteered to," he said mechanically.  
"Hn.. so you do care..." she mumbled as she went back into bed.  
  
When Ki woke up again, Trowa was there and it was early morning. She stayed still and watched him read his book intently. For once he wasn't wearing his turtleneck. Instead, he was wearing a black sweater that looked hot on him. Ki studied the strong yet gentle lines of his neck and face. Her eyes examined his well-formed masculine hands and up to his hair which was still neatly arranged in front of his face. From her angle she could see both eyes. She stared at the depth of his beautiful green eyes and then realized that he was intently staring back at her over the top of the book. She felt color appear on her cheeks.  
"O-ohayo..." she said in a shy soft voice. Trowa said nothing and indicated to the tray of food next to her. Ki's face lit up. She was famished. Sitting up with only a little pain, she dug in, forgetting about everything else.  
As she ate, Trowa glanced at her a few times through the corner of his eye. This was the first time he had seen her eat and he realized why she was always done before the guys entered the kitchen. She took big bites, quick yet thorough chews, and swallowed, almost immediately followed by another bite. She could rival Duo, he mused. In a matter of minutes, she was done.  
"Heh... I need to go to the bathroom..." she said embarassedly. Trowa nodded and helped her up and guided her to the bathroom. As soon as they reached the door, she stopped him. "I can take it from here... I'm going to take a shower too..."  
"I'll wait here," Trowa said and sat down by the door and opened up his book again. He heard Ki sigh as she closed the door.  
A while later, Ki stuck her head out, her face carried the expression of pain. Trowa stood up and helped her back. While doing so, he couldn't help noticing the gentle curve of her modest chest size. He scolded himself. What was he thinking? She was a good trainee and housemate... and a particularly attractive one at that. He gritted his teeth with frustration. What was making him feel this way? 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
Time passed and things changed drastically since Ki's encounter with misfortune. The five boys became very overprotective of her and became as close as family. One by one, she quickly won favor of each of them.  
One day, Ki had been furiously banging at her own notebook computer because it had frozen. Heero wordlessly went up to her and tapped a few keys that got it working again. "How the hell did you do that?" she demanded. He showed her. After that Ki always went to him for help with computer troubles. He didn't mind much because she usually waited until he wasn't busy.   
"Heero-san?" Ki went up to him tentatively. Heero gave her a glance to continue. She gave him a disk. "For your next mission... I found out you had to be a business man... I made a powerpoint presentation that could help you out," she offered. Heero look at the disk. He had been intending to prepare one but hadn't had the time. He was thankful that Ki had taken the time to help him out.  
"Next time wait until I ask for your help," he said gruffly, but took the disk anyway. Ki smiled.  
"Your welcome," she said cheerfully and left the room.  
  
Another time, Ki woke up just in time to stop Duo from painting face paint onto her face in the middle of the night. "What are you doing?" she hissed. Duo smiled sheepishly. "I'll show you the right way to do it," she continued. Duo looked at her in amazement, as she went into the bathroom and retrieved toothpaste and shaving cream. She beckoned him to follow her. One by one they both snuck into the other rooms. Wufei received a toothpaste mustache and cream eyebrows. Heero ended up with shaving cream beard and Quatre a facepainted flower pattern. Trowa ended up with a shaving cream wig.  
Snickering, the two mischief makers exchanged high fives and went back to bed. However, the next morning, the house shook at the break of dawn with, "MAXWELL!!!!!!"  
Ki had turned herself in because she felt guilty that Duo was the only one blamed. Trowa and Quatre did see the humor but Heero and Wufei failed to. They paid dearly for their fun and were forced to clean and polish what they could in the training room. But from then on, the two made sure life in that house was never dull.  
  
Wufei was harder to please but Ki managed it all the same. She challenged him to a duel and she lost gracefully. He had grabbed her shoulders and flipped over her, then flipped her over him, spun her around, and pinned her down. "How the hell did you do that!?!?" she demanded. Wufei refused to teach her, but performed the move one more time.  
For a while, Ki stayed within the training room, practicing Wufei's move over and over again. Finally, she was ready to test it out on a human. She picked Duo because he was the only one who had none of the brains to figure out what she wanted to do. Gracefully, she proceeded and executed it as perfect as Wufei, if not better.  
It was normal to see Wufei perform moves in front of Ki now. After viewing, she'd try it out herself. Of course, that never stopped him from saying to her, "You're weak onna. Stick to the kitchens."  
  
With Quatre, it took a different approach. Ki heard violin music coming from his room and she poked in to have a look. She nearly passed out with giddiness when she saw Quatre playing the violin. "Quatre-san! I never knew you played!" she exclaimed after he had finished his song. Quatre blushed.  
"I haven't had the chance until now," he said shyly. Ki looked at the stand that was brimming with sheet music as if it was food. Tears filled her eyes and she rushed back to her room. Quatre was stunned. What had happened?  
He went to her room and found her angrily chucking pillows in the air. "What's wrong, Ki-san?" he asked worriedly. She stopped and covered her face with a pillow. Distinctly, her heard her say, "Nothing."  
Slightly abashed, he left her room still wondering. A lightbulb went off in his head.  
The next day when Ki got home she saw a violin case decorated with a bow on her bed. Stunned she numbly opened the case to reveal a beautifully handcrafted violin and bow. Her fingers gently plucked each string, in which each resonated sweetly and richly in the correct pitch. She opened a compartment to reveal a shoulder rest, rosin, and a mini violin care kit. She fitted the rest onto the back of the violin and tightened and rosined the bow. She had just barely started playing her favorite song, Praeludium and Allegro, when she had become lost in her own world.  
As she played, the five boys were lured to her room by the meloncholy melody. Her fingers flew across the fingerboard with grace and precision. When Ki finished, she heard clapping behind her. Quatre was smiling the widest. "I knew you could play!" he exclaimed.   
"You? You got me this violin?" she asked astonishedly. He nodded. Happily, she hugged him. "Thank you!"  
Hearing violin duets echo throughout the house was a frequent after that.  
  
Despite the activities or fun she had with the others, she enjoyed being with Trowa the most. She came upon him while he reading in the library. "You don't mind do you?" she asked kindly. Trowa shook his head. Contently, she settled herself on a window seat and started scribbling in a pad. Every now and then she'd furiously erase at the paper. Curiousity caused Trowa to silently get up and look over her shoulder. His eyes shot up with surprise.  
Dancing across the paper were lively drawings of him. "Surprised?" she asked, startling him well. Ki stopped to turn and face him. "Now, if you are through poking over my shoulder, go back to where you were, so I can finish this perspective of you."  
Not knowing why, he complied. However he had a hard time concentrating on his book, knowing that she was drawing him. A few times, he'd still quick glances at her. He noticed a change in her. Her feminineness was becoming more apparent.  
Her shapely legs were comfortably positioned to prop up her sketchpad. Her denim shorts just seemed to accentuate their length. Her oval face was bent with concentration and her finely molded hands skated the pencil across. Her white hooded cardigan made her hair look even darker. She had pulled her hair out of the braid it was in before, and it fell in masses of shining soft waves. The sunlight shining from the window created the effect of making it look like she was glowing angelically.  
He sighed and turned away. What was he thinking?  
  
Weeks passed and no missions were assigned. Everyone enjoyed the time of relaxation but still made sure that they'd be ready for anything. The time finally came when Heero entered the library where Trowa was reading and Ki was writing. "We have a mission. All of us," he said shortly. 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
  
"Who the hell would want to rebuild Oz??" Ki demanded. "You'd think they'd get the picture already!" The six of them were inside a spaceship that was carrying them to a small forming Oz base. Heero grunted. He was so sure that they had eliminated anyone that could pose a threat and build up Oz.  
"It'll be simple," Heero said shortly. "We sneak in, set the self-destruct sequence and tail out of there."  
The other boys nodded but Ki looked at him doubtfully. "A million things could go wrong with that plan," she said ruefully. No one said anything. As long as each of them did their job right, nothing would go wrong.   
The ship landed in a quiet open and secluded area that was near the base. They quickly split up in three groups of two. Heero and Wufei entered through the roof, Duo and Quatre through the groud floor, and Trowa and Ki snuck in through a garage. They were each linked by one person with a communicator in each group.  
Duo aimed a flashlight around in the dark corners. His eyes caught white rolls of paper stuffed in a box. Curiously he unrolled one and let out a whoop of joy. "Quatre! I found a blueprint of the building!" he exclaimed. Quatre quickly relayed the message to Heero and Wufei.  
"Give me the location for the control room. Wufei and I are on the top floor, east end," Heero voice came crackling through.   
"Shit.. this'll take a while," Duo cursed. Quatre and Duo immediately calculated the distance and started to guide the others through.  
  
"Damn... no reception here," Trowa muttered. Ki sighed. They were wandering around in the shadows for the last half hour, trying to contact the others.   
"Shit... I don't want to be stuck in here, wandering forever," Ki muttered. Trowa put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.  
"We'll get out... At least, I'll make sure you do anyway... I promise," he said lightly. Ki stared at him and blushed, glad that he hadn't noticed.  
"Trowa... don't... talk like that... You're giving me the creeps," she tried to say jokingly. Trowa turned to look at her with his green eyes. She shivered slightly.  
"I mean it," he said softly. Ki averted his gaze and spotted a door as they turned the corner.  
"Look... I think it's empty. Let's check it out," she suggested. Trowa agreed and they quietly slipped in for it was unlocked. The room was dark and he couldn't see anything. He tried the communicator again. It crackled on. "It works!" he said relieved. He contacted Heero.   
"Where the hell were you guys?" Heero's voice demanded.  
"We were stuck in a no reception zone... What's going on?" Trowa asked.  
"Duo and Quatre found blueprints of the buildings in the basement. They're guiding me and Wufei to the control room," came a static reply.  
"Great, we'll meet you there."  
"Affirmative."  
Trowa shut off the device. "Hey Ki... let's go. We gotta find the control room," he said. No answer. He squinted and tried to look around. "Ki?" THWACK! Blackness covered him like a veil.  
  
Heero and Wufei entered the control room and cut off connection with Duo and Quatre. Wufei took watch while Heero busily tapped the keys of the main computer. "Something doesn't feel right," Wufei muttered. Heero said nothing. He finally accessed the self distruct files. He moved to press enter. He froze at the sound a gun click.  
"You can stop right there," a rough male voice ordered. Slowly, Heero raised his hands to the air. He glanced aver at Wufei and saw the chinese boy being held at gun point too. He remembered Ki's words. 'A million things could go wrong...' But there was still Quatre and Duo.  
  
Heero and Wufei were thrown into a cell. "They got you guys too?" a familiar voice asked. Heero sat up painfully and saw Duo and Quatre. His mind raced. That meant only Ki and Trowa were left. He cursed to himself.  
"Damn it... I suppose neither of you know how they caught us? I mean... we didn't set off any alarms," Wufei asked. No one knew.  
The cell door swung open again. They all look up and saw and unconscious Trowa fall in. They gasped. It was all over for them now. The door opened wider. A figure stood there, wearing a high ranking Oz uniform.  
"KI!!" they all exclaimed in horrified voices. Ki simply nodded, as she folded her arms across her chest. She looked eerily dangerous with her hair pulled back into a long braid, but with some hair covering one eye. Wufei was the first to stand up. He clenched his fists.  
"How dare you betray us??" he growled. Ki said nothing and simply turned around and closed the door.   
"Should we start planning they're execution, ma'am?" the boys heard a different voice ask.  
"No. We have other things to worry about," came a cold reply from Ki.  
  
"I can't believe it," Trowa said angrily through gritted teeth. The boys had told him of Ki's deceit when he had come to. He couldn't believe that Ki had done this to them.   
"I'm never trusting women again!" Duo decided.   
'And I'm never falling for them...' Trowa thought to himself bitterly.  
"What do you think of all this Heero? You haven't said anything!" Duo demanded. Heero turned his face away and said nothing still.  
Suddenly an alarm went off. The boys looked up in surprise. "Did someone break in??" Quatre wondered. Heero froze.  
"No! That's the self-destruct alarm!" he realized. Outside the door, they heard the rushing of footsteps.  
  
Ki ran to the boys' cell. She punched in the code to open the door. Nothing happened. She punched it again. Still nothing. Furious, she kicked the door.  
The boys jumped when they heard a bang on the door which was followed by a curse. The door blasted open. There stood Ki, holding a gun in her hand with a satisfied look on her face. She returned the gun to her side. "C'mon! I got to get you guys to the suits!" she said shortly and ran off. Not knowing where else to go and because they were curious to know what she was up to, the boys followed and caught up to her quickly.  
"We thought you had betrayed us!!" Duo exclaimed. Ki threw him a look.  
"Kind of gullible aren't you? Heero knew I wasn't for real," she retorted. Even from the front, she could see the others glaring at Heero for not telling them.  
They stopped in front of a huge metal wall. Ki turned to face the guys. "To make a long story short," she started, " This base started creating mobile suits made of typical metals. None of them will pose a threat like your former Gundams did. When I started working undercover here, I knew that you guys would be assigned to destroy this base. So I rose my way up to a high position to have five special suits made. Nothing like your Gundams... those blueprints were destroyed shortly after the war and the scientists would never reveal their secrets. Your mission was to destroy this base. However, this new Oz figured out you would be instructed to do so, and ordered for the evacuation plan to be carried out on the mobile suits. You guys have to destroy those. I had to get you guys out of the way so that I could arrange the timing. I set off the destruct sequence and went back to you guys to get you to these new suits. After we're done destroying everything, get yourselves out of the suits using the ejection seat. I've programmed for the seats to land back at the ship and the suits will crash on the base."  
The guys stared at her amazed. She had planned everything from the start. Ki turned back to the wall and blasted it. Behind was a hidden chamber with five matching white mobile suits. She turned back to them. "Good luck," she said. The boys started walking toward the suits. Slowly they stopped and turned back at her.  
"What about you?" Heero asked. Ki looked at him surprise.  
"Do you see six suits?" she remarked sarcastically. "I'll deal with myself. You guys have to get into the suits!"  
From the end of the corridor, a group of soldiers spotted them. "You!" one of them shouted. Ki whipped out her gun.  
"Get on the fuckin' suits!" she yelled and started shooting. She felt a hand on her shoulder.  
"You're coming with us," said Trowa's voice. Ki snapped.  
"And how the hell am I supposed to? There's only five suits!!" she yelled. "Each was made for just one person!"  
"You're coming with us," he repeated. Ki stared at him and stopped shooting for a moment. Completely forgetting that there were soldiers running after them. Trowa looked and saw that they were too close. He grabbed Ki's arm and started rushing to the suit. The other boys were way ahead of them. Ki let out a cry of pain. Trowa looked back and saw that one of them had grabbed her braid. She tried pulling but with no avail. Taking a knife, she reached back and severed her hair free. The soldier stumbled back with a long braid in his hand. Turning around briefly, Ki shot him and jumped up into the suit with Trowa.  
The entrance to the suits closed in front of them, shielding the from the gunshots. Trowa sat in the one seater and Ki sat on his lap sideways. He activated the machine and everything lit up. He turned on the communicator and heard Duo whoop with glee. Ki wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He froze for a moment. He felt her breathing against his ear. "I think I'm shot... Prepare for take off..." she whispered and blacked out.  
  
The five boys impatiently waited for the doctor to emerge from Ki's room. The mission had been successful and complete. They were now in the hospital because of Ki. The doctor finally showed up and they all stood.  
"How is she, doctor?" Quatre asked. The doctor looked tired.  
"I removed one bullet from her upper right thigh and another in her shoulder. She lost a lot of blood but thank goodness her brother donated some. She needs lots of rest now... but she should be awake soon," he answered. Quatre, Duo, Wufei, and Trowa looked puzzled.  
"Her brother?" Duo repeated.  
"Me," Heero answered gruffly. The doctor decided to leave them alone at this point, while the other four were gaping at the japanese boy.  
"Since when are you her brother?" Duo demanded.  
"Half brother..." Heero corrected. "We had the same mother."  
"How long have you known this, Heero?" Quatre asked.  
"Since I checked her file about two months ago," came the short reply. The questions stopped, which was wise because Heero didn't feel like volunteering anymore information.  
Heero went into Ki's room. She was lying on the bed, asleep. The other boys quietly entered. Ki was oddly pale dressed in a hospital gown and under the light. Her once long hair was now cropped unevenly around her shoulders. The boys stared at her for a while.  
"I fail to see the resemblance," Wufei said stiffly. Heero glared at the Chinese boy.  
"We had different fathers. Hers was another Asian man like our mother... mine was a European," he said reluctantly.  
"I never knew you were a mix," Duo said surprised.  
"Yea... that's why it's normal for a Japanese guy to have blue eyes," Heero said sarcastically. A slight chuckle from the bed threw their attention again. Heero and Trowa were the first ones by the bed and the landed on either side.  
"You're awake!" Quatre exclaimed from the foot of the bed when he saw Ki's eyes open.  
"How much did you hear?" Heero asked anxiously. Ki smiled devilishly.  
"Heh... Actually... I was awake before you guys came in... onii-chan," she said sweetly. Heero cracked a smile. She looked around and focused on Trowa. "Blood..." she said softly, reaching out to Trowa's bloodstained turtleneck. "Is that mine? Why didn't you change?"  
Trowa reached out and held her hand. "I hadn't even thought about it," he said quietly. They stared at each other for a while. Heero glowered. Something was going on between them and he wasn't liking it much. He opened his mouth to say something but was intercepted by Quatre who already scented trouble.  
"Why don't we all get something to eat? You must be starving Ki!" he suggested. Ki nodded and smiled. "Good.. Trowa stay here and Heero come with us."  
Heero grunted and didn't budge from his seat. Sighing, Duo walked over and dragged him out of the room. Ki waited until the four guys had left the room, then tried sitting up. "And here I was hoping you were going to rest," Trowa sighed, helping her prop against the pillows. Ki stuck her tongue out at him.  
"You know me," she said cheerfully. Silence took over the room again. Ki surveyed Trowa again. "I really wish you'd take off the shirt... it's really disturbing me."  
He raised an eyebrow at her. "You'd rather me shirtless?" he asked. Her mouth fell open and she blushed.  
"I... didn't mean it that way..."   
Trowa laughed. Ki stared at him with amazement. He was never like this. She reached out and touched his cheek. Trowa froze but inside his blood was boiling. The gentle touch of her hand was like a drug... he wanted more. He silently cursed to himself. He couldn't figure out what in damned hell, he was feeling. He took her caressing hand in his and involuntarily brushed it against his lips. Ki's eyes didn't waver from Trowa's steady ones.   
A loud grunt interrupted their tryst and their connection broke, Trowa quickly dropped her hand. They looked up and saw Heero with a very unhappy look on his face. He opened his mouth but was interrupted by Ki's demand for food. So, he said nothing and simply fed his sister. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
  
Ki was shortly returned to the hospital and by then it was vacation from school. However, things hadn't changed much. Duo and Ki were still at it, Ki and Wufei still fought, Ki and Quatre still played duets, and Ki and Trowa hung out if Heero wasn't around to be an overprotective brother. However, Heero couldn't always be around... especially if he was on a mission, in which he is in the chapter.  
Trowa was reading in the library when he heard a soft song play through the walls from the living room.  
  
Late at night when all the world  
Is sleeping...  
I stay up and think of you  
And I wish on a star  
That somewhere you are  
Thinking of me too  
  
He stood up and left the library, heading to the living room.  
  
'Cause I'm dreaming of you tonight  
'Til tomorrow..I'll be holding you tight  
And there's no where in the world  
I rather be.. Than here in my room  
Dreaming about you and me  
  
Peeking in he saw Ki dusting the furniture and singing along to the music flowing out through the stereo system. He stood leaned against the frame, watching her while the sunlight streamed through the window behind her.  
  
Wonder if you ever see me  
And I wonder if you know I'm there  
If you looked in my eyes  
Would you see what inside  
Would you even care  
I just wanna hold you close  
But so far..All I've had are dreams of you  
So I wait for the day,   
To have the courage to say  
How much I love you  
Yes I do  
  
He smiled when he saw her dancing with herself. Boldly, he walked across through the room and took her startled self in his arms. He felt her arms lace around his shoulders and he pulled her closer to him with the arms around her waist. Together they danced while Ki continued to softly sing along.  
  
I'll be dreaming of you tonight  
'Til tomorrow  
I'll be holding you tight  
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be  
Than here in my room  
Dreaming about you and me.  
  
Oo~~ I can't stop dreaming of you~~  
  
At this point, Ki leaned her head against his shoulder and relaxed, feeling completely safe yet vulnerable in Trowa's arms. Her heart skipped when she felt his arms move gently across her back.  
  
Late at night when all the world is sleeping  
I stay up and think of you  
And I still can't believe  
That you came up to me  
And said I love you  
I love you too...  
  
Ki looked up with a slightly blushed face and found Trowa staring down at her. They stopped dancing and stood within each other's arms. Trowa stared down at Ki's face. Her now short hair curled in softly around Ki's chin, framing her face. Her soft peach lips lightly worded the last chorus.  
  
Now I'm dreaming with you tonight  
'Til tomorrow  
And for all of my life  
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be  
Than here in my room  
Dreaming with you endlessly~~  
  
Ki's voice drifted off with the ending musical phrases. With one capable calloused hand, Trowa caressed her smooth cheek. Her eyelids slightly fell heavier at his touch. Her hands wrapped around the back of his head and pulled him towards her face until they were barely an inch apart. "Kiss me..." she whispered. She didn't need to tell him twice.  
He lightly brushed his lips against hers. They tasted like strawberries and she smelled like rasberries. He kissed her again, more deeply this time. She kissed him back, lightly pressing her body against his. He kissed her hungrily like a starving man. Her own lips passionately returning every gesture. Finally they parted, breathing heavily for air. Ki felt her head spin with ecstasy. Trowa was completely overwhelmed with this emotion. It was like the same caring he had for his sister, Catherine... but there was more.  
"Tr-Trowa?" Ki stared up at him, sensing his confusion. His hands dropped to his sides.  
"I... I... need to go..." Trowa stuttered and he stepped away from her. Before Ki could say a word, he dashed out of the house and left Ki in the house... alone.  
  
Later that day, Quatre, Wufei, and Duo returned to find what seemed to be an empty house. "Damn... I thought we left Trowa and Ki here..." Duo recalled. Quatre shrugged. Wufei went into the living room.  
"Ki!!! What the hell is wrong?" he asked when he caught sight of the distraught girl, wringing her hands and pacing around. Ki stopped and dropped her hands abruptly.  
"Trowa... he just left... h-he... I don't know where he went..." Ki said frantically. Wufei stared at her like she was wearing a hatful of jello. Quatre and Duo had heard it all.  
"I'll get her upstairs... she needs some tea. Wufei and Duo... Try to figure out where Trowa went... I'm guessing he went to his circus," the blonde arabian instructed. Duo and Wufei nodded and headed out to find the pilot of Heavyarms.  
  
Once Quatre had settled down Ki with a cup of strong tea, he asked her what happened. Ki took a big sip of the tea then slammed her head against the table. "I am SUCH a dork..." Ki muttered. Quatre looked startled.  
"What are you talking about?" he asked. Ki twisted her head to the side and looked at Quatre from her peripheral vision.  
"What was I THINKING, Q???" she demanded. She only received a confused blink. "Dork, dork, dork, dork..." she kept repeating, emphasizing each word with a bang against the table. Quatre's eyes widened when a realization hit him.  
"Ki... Do you like Trowa?" he asked gently. One last loud bang came from her, then she lifted her head up.  
"Q... It's worse that THAT!!!" Ki whined.  
"You mean... wait... you aren't... KI! Are you in love with Trowa??" Quatre demanded.  
"Quatre!! PLEASE!!! Don't tell Heero!!!!" Ki pleaded as she dropped her head back to the table. Quatre had barely heard. He was too shocked.  
  
With a sigh, Trowa knocked on the door of Catherine's trailer. A few seconds later, a pretty woman with shorb brown curly hair and silvery blue eyes appeared. "Trowa!" she exclaimed with surprise. "What are you doing here?"  
Trowa ran a hand through his hair. "I need some advice... and help," he said. He wasn't surprised to see the look of shock cross Catherine's face. He never asked for advice or help form her, she freely gave it though he hadn't wanted it. But yet, here he was, asking.  
Cat ushered him inside. They sat comfortably around her snug kitchen and started talking.  
"So... what is it that you need my advice about?" she asked, getting right down to business. Trowa stared down at his cup of hot chocolate.  
"I kissed a girl," he said simply. Cat gave him a curious look.  
"Who?" she asked.  
"A girl who lives with me and the guys... She's Heero's half sister," he added the last part, so that Cat wouldn't get the wrong impression.  
"And you kissed Heero's half sister?"  
"Yea.. I know... don't be surprised if my funeral comes early."  
"Haven't you kissed girls before?"  
"Yeah.... But... It's different... I mean... I get a different feeling when I kiss her. It's not a normal kiss."  
"How is it not normal? It's just lips against lips!"  
Trowa sighed and tapped at the cup. "I get this... feeling," he muttered. Catherine nearly choked on her drink.  
"Is it bad?" she demanded to know. Trowa shook his head no.  
"It's good actually... I like it... but... I'm..." he couldn't bring himself to say the word.  
"You're scared," his sister promptly finished for him. Trowa didn't say anything. "Trowa... I think you don't like her."  
Trowa stared at her. "But..." he started but she silenced with a hand.  
"I do believe you've fallen in love little brother," she said with a satisfied grin. Trowa stared at his sister. Love? Oh hell...  
  
Trowa went back home in the dead of the night. He silently closed the door behind him and paused by the training room. The crack beneath the door told him that the lights were still on. 'Who would be up at this hour training???' he thought to himself. Wufei, most likely. He peeked in, making not a bit of noise. His eyes widened in surprise. Whom he saw was not Wufei, but Ki. She was busy beating the stuffing out of a punching bag. He noted the fresh tear she had already made in it. Suddenly, something came whizzing toward his face and he quickly shut the door before it could hit him. He felt and heard the bang and vibration of the thrown object.  
"I mean it Duo!!! Leave me alone!!!" Ki's voice said angrily through the door. Trowa flung the door wide open. Ki gasped and took a step back. With a quick glance at one socked foot and a sneaker laying by him, he knew that was what she had flung. He bent down to pick it up and walked to Ki.  
"Loose something?" he asked, holding out the sneaker to her. Quietly, she took it and slipped it back on. Tension filled there air.  
"Where were you?" she asked, not looking at him in the face.  
"The circus that I used to work with," he answered, looked down at her.  
'Great... while I was seething and worried sick, he was off in a circus,' she thought to herself. As if he had read her thoughts Trowa said, "I went to see my sister."  
"That's nice," Ki said offhandedly and proceeded to beat up the bag again. Firmly, Trowa took hold of her upper arm. Ki looked at him through the corner of her eye. She breathed in sharply when his other hand cupped her cheek.  
"You're mad at me," he stated. Ki lowered her eyes.  
"Why shouldn't I be? We kiss and you walk out... Not exactly how I would've pictured it," she said dryly. Boldly, Trowa moved nearer to her.  
"How would you have pictured it?" he asked as he lightly slid the hand that was gripping her arm to her shoulder. He felt her falter a little.  
"I-I... don't know..." she muttered. Tenderly, he lifted her chin up.  
"Was it something like this?" he asked and gave her a sweet chaste kiss on the lips. Ki blinked at him in confusion, her lips tingling.  
"What are you plotting Trowa?" she asked softly. Without a word, he kissed her again, this time longer and deeper. With passion, she kissed him back, her body melting to his. Reluctantly they pulled apart for air. "You're not going anywhere," Ki observed teasingly. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him.  
"No.. I'm not... not this time or ever," he said, puliing her in for another kiss. 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
  
"Anyone see Trowa last night? Did he get in?" Duo asked as he walked into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes of the sleep. Wufei, Heero, and Quatre were all awake and serving themselves breakfast. Duo's eyes widened with horror. "Ki didn't get up to make breakfast??"  
"She must be tired," Quatre conluded. Heero frowned.  
"Trowa got in last night... I saw his shoes in the entrance hall," Wufei informed before leaving the room. Duo scratched his head.  
"That's weird... He wasn't in his room," he recalled. Heero abruptly stood up and stalked over to the library. Duo and Quatre followed at his heels. Silently but swiftly, Heero opened the double doors wide. From a couch he could see the back of Trowa's head.  
"Oh... that's where he was," Quatre saw. Heero barely heard him. The japanese boy walked straight toward Trowa and stopped at a practical distance to pull a gun on the sleeping boy. "Heero what are you doing!?"  
Duo and Quatre rushed over to make sure Heero wouldn't shoot Trowa. Then they froze. There was another figure resting peacefully upon Trowa's chest. Slowly the figure rose with a yawn and awoke. Wrapped well by a blanket, Ki insolently stared at her older half brother.  
"What the hell are you doing?" she hissed angrily.  
"Whoa.. looks like someone got lucky!!" Duo commented. Angrily, Heero jabbed the braided boy's stomach with his elbow. Ki glared at Duo and released the blanket to show that she had the blanket wrapped around her because she was wearing thin flimsy sweats that she was cold in.  
"What the hell were you doing, Ki?" Heero asked in an icy tone.  
"We were sleeping... that's it," Trowa's voice said evenly. Everyone's attention turned to Trowa who had turned around and sat up.  
Seeing that everyone was distracted, Ki kicked the gun out of Heero's hand. "Quit playing the overprotective brother... especially when it's your own friend that I want to be with!" she yelled. Heero's prussian eyes flashed and he opened his mouth to say something when the doorbell rang.  
They heard Wufei grouchily get up and open the door. When they heard his surprised yell, they fought to peek out of the door first. While the faces of the boys were dismayed and shocked, Ki's lit up like the sun. Standing at the door were two girls that were equal in beauty as Ki.  
One girl was striking in beauty, with her Asian features of a high forehead and high cheekbones on a heart shaped face. Her smoky blue-gray eyes swept over them with scorn. Her skin was flawlessly tanned golden and her figure was full with strong lithe curves. Her dark hair was streaked with bold dark purple and layered neatly around her face. She wore a denim blue jacket with a beige tank top underneath that was trimmed with intricate baby blue designs. Her denim skirt matching her jacket was homemade from regular blue jeans and had decorative fringes on it. Looped around her slim waist and hanging to the side of her hip was a stringy leather belt trimmed with sea shells. Her french tipped feet were comfortably sheathed with beige sandal platforms. Upon her french manicured hand was a turquoise ring and bracelet set in silver, on the other a silver bangle. But the best piece she wore was the radiant crystal pendant on a delicate gold chain that hung provocatively around her the low cut neckline of her tank. Upon her hair she wore a leather beret to the side that had a turqoise pin attached to it.  
Her companion was a yellow-haired caucasian with soft laughing sea blue eyes. The oval face was a delicate porcelain with a gentle blush scattered on her cheeks. Waves of pure gold cascaded down her back, gently framing her face. She wore a straw hat with blue flowers on her head. She wore a summer dress that was a green-blue color that clung leisurely to her curves and fell down a little past her knees where it flared with a swish. The sleeves of the dress were open and made of sheer dull green-blue that flowed unevenly in ruffles to her elbows. Her feet were slippered in delicate white sandals with a slight heel. Her only decoration were a pair of gold earrings that hung like tassels.  
Beside them were suitcases... MANY suitcases. Ki stepped out. "Babes!! What are you doing here??" she asked. The asian girl sighed with exasperation.  
"Kirei... what the HELL are you wearing??" she demanded. Ki looked down at her attire and shrugged.  
"Clothes? Sweats? I just woke up," she answered. "But I do believe I asked first, XuLien."  
"I guess none of you guys checked your e-mail? Giovanna and I were sent here for training too," the one called XuLien answered.  
"MORE WOMEN???" Wufei yelled unhappily. XuLien glanced at the Chinese boy.  
"Who the hell is this loser?" she demanded. Wufei glared at her.  
"I am Chang Wufei!! What is you're name?" he snapped. Smoothly as if he had just asked for the name of a princess, XuLien answered.  
"I am Kim XuLien, descended from aristocratic Chinese and Korean ancestors," she said proudly. Wufei said nothing and looked at her darkly. The blonde girl stepped in further.  
"My name is Giovanna Montecello. I'm simply from Italy," she said pleasantly, giving everyone a smile. "Since Wufei here has been kind enough to introduce himself, will the rest of you do so? Or shall I guess from the descriptions Kirei gave us?"  
The boys didn't say anything. Giovanna sighed and XuLien rolled her eyes. She jerked her head towards Wufei. "No need to ask who that is! He's exactly as Kirei described him!" she exclaimed. Ki quickly avoided Wufei's direction.  
The two new girls walked in dragging their bags in. Giovanna took one look at Heero and studied his face with curious eyes. "You must be Heero! Kirei's half brother?" she asked nicely. Heero grunted and glared at Ki.  
"What? I'm not allowed to talk about family?" Ki defended herself.  
"This must be Duo," XuLien said when she noticed the braided boy. "You haven't been a very good influence on my friend." She turned and saw Trowa. "However you have... Trowa am I right?" XuLien looked at him appreciatively. "I must say Kirei... I approve."  
Ki reddened and turned away. Heero grunted unhappily. XuLien paused at him. "That is so not attractive," she commented. Heero glared at her. Giovanna intervened.  
"Isn't this one Quatre then? The Winner heir?" she said, emphasizing the last word. XuLien's head snapped away from Heero and her eyes settled on the Arabian blonde.  
"Shall we talk business? I would like for your industry to port at a few of my many docks," she requested. The two went into Quatre's office in deep conversation.  
"How many is a few?" Duo asked curiously to Giovanna. The blonde girl grinned.  
"Just a few hundred I'm sure," she answered amiably.  
  
XuLien headed for the training room after getting settled in her room. She was constantly going about how she needed to lose weight and worked out a lot in her spare time... her definition of working out was usually shopping though. However, this time she was prepared to attack those weights. She was dressed smartly in a light form-fitting running shorts and baby blue tank top. Her feet were secure with white ankle socks and three-striped baby blue Adidas sneakers. Her glossy dark hair was held back with a terry cloth band.  
As she entered the room, her face frowned as she saw Wufei in a corner practicing his martial arts. For a brief moment she did a quick check out of his muscular and agile body, before she headed over to TV/VCR and pop in her aerobics video. A pretty well built woman appeared on the screen and she started exercising with encouragements to the viewers. XuLien executed each move perfectly so far with great control and flexibility.  
Meanwhile, Wufei was getting extremely distracted. But not by the video. From the mirrored walls, he could see XuLien's supple body stretch in a tantalizing manner. He became angry with himself for being able to be so easily distracted by a mere woman. His anger then directed out. He stomped over to her and shut the TV off.  
"What do you think this is woman?? Some kind of dance club??" he lashed out. The asian girl's eyes clouded like a storm.   
"Maybe you're blind but this is an aerobics workout video!!" she yelled back.  
"And you expect to gain muscle that way?" he shouted.  
"It's not for gaining muscle you prick!! It's for losing weight!!" she stormed. He stared at her incredulously.  
"If you lost anymore weight, I wouldn't be able to see you woman!!" he stated. XuLien jabbed a finger at his toned chest.  
"Listen... First of all, I know my own body, all right? And second of all, I got a name and it's XuLien... USE it... got it?" she said in a pointed manner and shimmied out the door with her head held high. Wufei gawked at the way she spoke to him.  
"Don't you walk out on me!!!" Wufei yelled after her. Duo poked in his head.  
"Wu-man.. She's gone," he said. Wufei glared at the american boy and chased him throughout the house.  
  
"Excuse me Heero." Heero looked up from his laptop and tried not to spit out any of the coffee he just drank. Giovanna stood by the doorway with a small white puppy in her arms. She had changed into a white peasant shirt with lavendar trim and ribbon and a slightly poofed out lavendar skirt that reached to mid-calf. She wore lavendar terry cloth house slippers on her feet. Her crown of golden hair fell in gentle waves about her shoulders. Right then he had a flash of that little girl from all those years ago.  
"What's with the dog?" he asked gruffly.  
"Would you like to pet him? His name is Lightning," she bidded. Sighing, Heero complied and petted the small husky. The jaws of the puppy snapped as it nipped at Heero's fingers. Then something amazing happened. He SMILED. (a/n: DROOL) "Oh... he's teething... but he does like you," she said apologetically. Coming back to reality, Heero quickly closed himself up again, withdrawing his hand.  
"What do you want?" he said in his usual stoic self. Giovanna looked down at the floor, etching a circle with her foot.  
"Do you have... any extra disks? I forgot to stock up..." she asked.  
Wordlessly, Heero opened a drawer and handed her two disks. She smiled and reached for them. Their hands briefly brushed. With a thank you, Giovanna left the room. Heero stared at his hand. 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
  
The next morning Ki started to make breakfast, wearing a simple T-shirt and shorts. XuLien entered and sat down at the table, waiting to be fed. She wore a baby blue cotton nightgown that stopped just above her knees. Next Heero came in, giving a curt nod to the girls. Ki had barely set down the coffee in front of them, as they inhaled the drink quickly. Giovanna entered with her hair tied up and dressed in white long pajamas trimmed with lace.  
"Let me help you cook, Kirei," the italian girl insisted. Ki held up the spatula like it was a sword.  
"No... sit... no.. sit!" she ordered. Giovanna wouldn't give up.  
"But but... c'mon!" she whined. XuLien sighed.  
"That is so not attractive... and Ki.. go upstairs and change into your white pajamas with the blue flowers," the girl said. Ki stared at her.  
"Why?? It's morning? Why would I change in the morning INTO pajamas when I've already got them on?" Ki protested.  
"Don't argue with me! Go upstairs and change!" XuLien ordered. Sighing, Ki reluctantly gave the spatula to the happy Giovanna and went upstairs. On the way, she passed Duo.  
"Morning sunshine!" he said cheerfully.  
"Save it!" Ki snapped. Duo blinked and focused on the kitchen crew.  
"Good morning!" he tried again. No response.  
Trowa came down and the surprise of seeing Giovanna cooking, other than Ki, showed well on his face. After a few minutes of quiet eating, Ki came back downstairs dressed in her white pajamas with blue flowers.  
"Happy?" Ki asked XuLien while she took the spatula away from the not-very-happy Giovanna. XuLien nodded with approval.  
"That is so much more attractive. It's a good thing you finally cut your hair too. It was looking like a dead animal when it was long," XuLien commented. Ki just shook her head with much exasperation.  
Quatre then entered, carrying Giovanna's husky in one arm and a ruined shoe in the other. "Who's puppy is this?" he asked in a weary voice as Lightning tried to struggle out of the arabian's arm. Giovanna rose up with an apologetic gesture.  
"Lightning! Oh... Quatre... I'm so sorry," she said upsetly as she took the husky back in her arms. Quatre sighed.  
"I'm sorry, Giovanna... but I don't think I can let your puppy stay here. Duo wanted one also, but with this kind of house... I just don't think it's possible," he informed her. Giovanna's face fell and Ki and XuLien glared at Quatre for probably the first and last time. Heero stood up abruptly and wiped his mouth with a napkin.  
"Puppy stays," he said shortly and left the room. Giovanna looked questioningly at Quatre, who had no choice but to sigh and give in. Opposing Heero was always a bad idea. Wufei entered the kitchen then.  
"I'm hungry," he announced. XuLien threw down her napkin.  
"And I'm not anymore," she proclaimed and left the room. Wufei glared after her.  
  
Ki went upstairs to change into her school uniform. XuLien entered, carrying two suitcases. "Here are the clothes you left behind. I brought everything of yours. Oh... by the way... can I borrow your lily perfume?" she asked.  
Ki gaped at her. "I left all my... skirts, dresses, anything nice and girlish, including accessories behind... and you brought it all here?" she asked incredulously. XuLien nodded slightly as she dug through one of the suitcases. Ki sighed. Trust XuLien to bring back everything she wanted but didn't want at the same time.  
"Found it!" XuLien exclaimed, popping back up with a satisfied smile. She held up the pink bottle and then spritzed herself with the flowery spray. Ki wrinkled her nose. She never liked the smell of flowers. XuLien sharply eyed Ki. "Kirei... what the heck are you wearing?? Put on that uniform skirt now!" she insisted, grabbing it from the hook on the wall where it was conveniently forgotten. Knowing that arguing back would do her no good, Ki took the knee-length pleated skirt and put it on.  
  
The boys and Ki waited impatiently for XuLien and Giovanna. Trowa was standing beside Ki, despite Heero's disapproval, noting how pretty she looked in the girl's uniform. He also could smell a fresh light berry scent wavering around her. He restrained himself from reaching out and committing any public displays of affection. He looked down and noticed that she was wearing black heeled slippers that strapped around her toes and ankle. He wondered if she could walk in those at all.  
Giovanna came down with her long sunshine hair tied up in a high ponytail. She was dressed neatly in her school uniform. Trowa noted how Ki had left a few buttons undone, while Giovanna had button every single one. She wore a simple long golden chain with with a cross pendant. Her shoes were black pumps with stiletto heels.  
"Where's our resident princess?" Ki asked wearily. Giovanna shrugged.  
"I'm here~!" XuLien's voice rang out. The guys stared at her with eyes popping out. She was wearing the uniform but she left off more buttons undone than Ki, revealing the low-cute tank top she was wearing underneath. Her skirt was hiked up slightly above mid-thigh, showing off long slim legs. She wore her usual turquoise jewelry and black open toe platforms.  
"What took you?" Duo asked. XuLien flipped her hair over her shoulder.  
"I was just being fashionably late, duh~" she said as she breezed by. Wufei got a whiff of her scent.  
"You smell like you rolled in a garden," he muttered. XuLien turned slightly and raised an eyebrow demurely.  
"You wish you could roll around with me in a garden," she quipped and resumed walking.  
  
The boys of the class whooped as the saw three stunningly beautiful girls enter the classroom. When they discovered that one of them was the tomboyish Ki, she ended up having a few guys trying to hit on her. This was remedied with Yoshira, Trowa, and Heero. Lots of guys were flocking over to XuLien and Giovanna. Giovanna ignored them mostly, preferring her books but XuLien coyly played around with their minds. Wufei was glaring darkly at the boys trying to get with XuLien.  
"She's as poisonous as a scorpion... and shameless," he glowered.  
Heero heard him but was more focused on Giovanna. He admired the way she was completely oblivious to her surroundings, all because of one book. Suddenly XuLien stood up, dragging Giovanna with her, and walked towards the housemate group.  
"We are going clubbing tonight," she announced. "All of you are coming and Wufei..." she gave him a pointed look. "I'll show you what a real dance club is." Their eyes narrowed at each other.  
  
Later after school, the girls gathered up in XuLien's room to get ready. After taking showers, they applied make up. XuLien went for the sultry look, Ki went for the frosty look, and Giovanna went for the pixy look. XuLien's eyes were framed with dark grayish colors, making them look alluring and provocative. Her lips were glossy cherry red, making them look pouty and delicious. Ki's lips were a glossy frosty pink which made them more kissable. Her pale cheeks were swept with light sparkling rose dust and her eyes were lined with eyeliner. Giovanna put on a warm nude-pink lip color that tasted like berries and her eyes were lightly shaded with blue shadow.  
They got dressed with much difficulty because they were constantly changing their minds. Ki was getting into it too as her forgotten girlishness resurfaced. Finally, they looked at the mirror with satisfaction. XuLien wore a stringy backless halter that was a soft blue with turquoise beads hanging on the ties and a short black mini-skirt decked out with a jangling silver belt. Her shoes sandals that tied up in criss crosses up her calf. Ki was forced into a tight black tube top with a red mini. She wore clunky black boots that went up the length of her calf. She wore small dangling earrings and a clunky silver necklace. Giovanna wore a leather skirt that had long fringing starting from her upper thigh all the way down to her knees and a white peasant top that didn't cover her well curved stomach. Her feet were encased in clunky beige sandals. Gold glittered richly upon her hands, ankles, ears and neck. Finally it was time to do their hair.  
Giovanna did up half her hair in an elegant twist and straightened the remainder temporarily. XuLien tied two half ponytails from either side of her head and curled them so that they would bounce. Ki waved her whole head with a curling iron so that the waves of hair would gently fall around her head. They looked at each other with satisfaction.  
  
Meanwhile the guys were patiently waiting. They were more than happy to have the girls stall. All except Duo weren't too keen on going to a club. He was dressed in light black pants and a loose gray shirt that had several buttons left undone. Heero was forced into baggy jeans and a Armani forest green shirt. Trowa was looking hot in gray slacks and a navy blue button down shirt that had only the first few buttons undone, enough to reveal his strong muscular chest. Quatre wore white pants with brown shirt and a leather suede jacket. Wufei wore black baggy jeans and a white shirt with a black blazer. They were all looking good.  
The girls finally came down, very well concealed under long coats. However, the beauty of their faces was enough to take breaths away. XuLien smiled mischievously.  
"Shall we?" she asked.  
  
They entered the club with no trouble. The music was blaring, the lights were swirling, and the people were dancing in pure orgy. They grabbed a table in a corner. The guys sat down but the girls stood up longer to remove their coats. Wufei, Heero and Trowa were instantly mesmerized. "Kami!! What are you, a prositute??" Wufei shouted at XuLien. She walked away with a huff. "Where does she think she's going dressed like that!?!" he demanded as he went after her.  
Heero grabbed Giovanna's arm and pulled her down next to him. "Sit and stay that way," he ordered. Giovanna looked at him first with curiousity, then pouted. Heero then threw her coat back over her. "Oi..." Giovanna muttered.  
Trowa reached for Ki to do the same thing, but when he grabbed her arm, she dragged him out to the floor. "Thanks so much for volunteering to dance with me," she laughed. Trowa tried to protest but Ki took him into the raging dance. Heero started to get up but froze when Giovanna lightly touched his arm.  
"I'm thirsty, aren't you?" she asked him sweetly. He stared at her with his mouth slightly agape.  
  
Meanwhile, Wufei was going after XuLien. "Get back here!!" he was yelling, attracting a lot of attention. XuLien was trying to ignore, but it wasn't easy. Finally, she turned around and walked up to Wufei who was standing at the edge of the dance floor. Seductively, she swayed her hips with the music, noting with satisfaction that he was captivated. When she reached him, one arm creeped up his, finding the way to his shoulder. The other hand slowly moved his hand to her waist. While doing this she never lost rhythm with her hips.  
Wufei stared into the dusky gray eyes and the full mouth, wandering down to how her firm supple body swayed. As the music's pace picked up so did she. Then to her surprise, Wufei started dancing with unexpected grace. He moved gently against her, causing her to gasp silently. "XuLien..." he whispered in a husky voice. Shivers went down her spine, as he said her name for the first time. She summoned up her self-control again and moved her hips at him harder. Despite the so-called animosity they had for each other, heat rised between them and Wufei pulled her closer to him, his hands running up and down her back.  
This went on for the remainder of the song and as the last measure were played, their faces were so close to each other, that they could feel one another's breath. Wufei felt himself stir with need. XuLien maneuvered to the side of his face and whispered, "Down boy." With that, she pulled away from him and walked off, disappearing into the crowd. Wufei gaped at her missing presence, then angrily stalked off to the bathroom somewhat uncomfortably, praying that there was a private room.  
  
A slow song was playing now and Heero was still sitting at the table with Giovanna. He saw Trowa and Ki dancing together (a little bit too close, he noted), Wufei stalking out of the bathroom with a red face, Quatre casually dancing with a girl he had just met, and Duo and XuLien dancing far away from Wufei.  
"I'm not quite sure why you're making me sit. You're sister has an outfit on that reveals her stomach too," Giovanna informed. Heero shrugged.  
"It's different with you," he said in his monotone voice. Giovanna looked at him curiously.  
"How do you figure that?" she asked.  
"There's something innocent about you. A different kind of innocence fron XuLien's and Ki's. I don't want to be around to see you lose that," he answered. She stared at him confusedly.  
"What?" she asked again. Heero ran a hand through his hair and looked straight ahead with no emotion.  
"Something about you... to me... like... you're an angel," he muttered. Giovanna kept staring. Heero turned around to look at her face. Involuntarily, his hand reached up and touched her smooth pink cheek. She stared into his blur prussian eyes with her own sea blue eyes. Hastily, Heero wrenched his hand away from her soft skin and turned to the opposite direction. Giovanna rolled her eyes and put a hand on his shoulder, wrenching him out of the chair with surprising strength.  
"You and I are going to dance," she ordered with a smile. Heero looked intently at her for a moment then his lips curved slightly.  
"Mission accepted," he said. They made their way to the floor and awkwardly wrapped their arms around each other.  
"You've never been this close to a girl have you?"  
Heero shrugged. "I've never hugged Ki," he informed. Giovanna laughed. The japanese boy tried not to notice how pleasant it sounded and how warm the skin of her waist was. What was this feeling that came over him every time she was near? What kind of power did she wield around him?  
  
When they returned home, XuLien and Wufei both stomped off to their rooms. Duo went downstairs to the TV room to watch a movie before heading off to bed and Quatre went into his study to take care of neglected business. Giovanna convinced Heero to play video games with her, which he found exciting. Meanwhile, Trowa and Ki locked themselves in the library for the rest of the night. (a/n: evil grin) 


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11  
  
Wufei stared at his computer screen with disbelief. 'No way,' he thought himself. He wasn't going to go, not with that person. Immediately, he wrote another e-mail and sent it out, stating: I will not go unless the other is re-assigned to another mission.  
Soon after another e-mail came saying: It's her or this mission will be relayed to Maxwell, Duo. Wufei cursed and quickly replied to accept the mission... He would never allow himself to be shunted aside in favor of that American! A few minutes after he shut down his computer, he heard a ferocious stomping of footsteps, followed by his bedroom door slamming open. A very unhappy XuLien stood there dressed in baggy, faded jeans, and baby blue halter top.  
"If you think for one moment, that I'M going to go on a mission with you... then you are ABSOLUTELY wrong!!!" she fumed.  
"If you can't handle hacking into a computer with my presence, then I suppose I'll just take Heero with me," Wufei remarked casually. XuLien's eyes flashed. Since she had arrived, there had been an unannounced competition going between her and Heero, in determination to outshine the other.  
"Forget it... I'll go... But don't expect ME to take any orders from YOU," she said haughtily, throwing her head up in the air. Pivoting on her heel, she stalked out of his room.  
"Heaven help us all," Wufei muttered to himself.  
  
XuLien started packing for her mission, while her two friends sat on her bed, giving her suggestions on what to take. As she packed, XuLien couldn't help noticing how unnaturally giddy and happy Kirei was. (Yes... Kirei... XuLien no longer allowed the tomboy-ish nickname to be said) XuLien put down her notebook computers and placed her hands on her hips. "What the hell is up with you??" she demanded. Kirei stared up at her friend in surprise.  
"Wh-what?" she stammered. Giovanna looked at Kirei curiously.  
"Oh... my god," XuLien gasped. Kirei looked at her uncertainly and Giovanna's face was thoroughly confused. "You... you... you and Trowa??"  
Kirei's face glowed a twisted shade of pink as she lowered her head. XuLien froze. "Kirei... you... you... oh my... you did... IT with Trowa??" she stammered. A muffled yes came from underneath Ki's hands, for behind then was her face. XuLien stared at her friend. Giovanna switched looks of confusion between Kirei and XuLien.  
"What? What did she do? What did she and Trowa do?" she asked naively. Giovanna lifted her finger in the air. "Ohh!!! I get it now!! Oh... oh dear..."  
Kirei and XuLien just looked at the blonde girl in disbelief. "Are you stupid?" XuLien muttered disdainfully. Giovanna laughed innocently. XuLien turned her attention back to Kirei. "Are YOU stupid?" she asked. Kirei looked at XuLien straight in the eye.  
"No... unless being in love is a stupid thing," she answered. XuLien wasn't satisfied.  
"To me, it is," she said shortly. There was a short pause as no more words were exchanged as XuLien continued packing. At a point, Giovanna scratched her head.  
"What was it like?" she asked. The two Asian girls stared at the girl. "What???"  
  
"If you screw up this mission I will ruin those new shoes you bought last Saturday," Wufei threatened. He didn't threaten to kill her because he wasn't the type who hit woman, for it was most dishonorable.  
"If YOU screw up this mission, I will personally take your sword and shove it up your ass," XuLien shot back. Wufei glared at her.  
"I didn't bring my sword with me," he said smugly. XuLien smiled sweetly.  
"I'm not talking about that one," she said, her eyes skimming over his legs. Wufei stared at her with a shocked face, then they're eyes narrowed at each other.  
They were inside a space ship, travelling to one of the other colonies to gain access to a recently developed microchip. Involuntarily, Wufei was checking out XuLien through her reflection in the glass window. She wore all black for this mission. Black denim pants, black boots, a black tank top with a sheer black long-sleeved shirt over it, and black shades. If anything she looked like a spy and if anything, with the way she moved in that outfit, they would get in and out of the building unnoticed.   
XuLien, meanwhile, wasn't checking Wufei out persay... but she was indeed impressed with his wardrobe. He wore dark gray slacks, black shoes, a white shirt, and a casual dark gray blazer. Judging from the styles and cuts, she was pretty sure they were designer. 'At least I don't need to be embarassed of his appearance in public,' she thought to herself. She shook her head at the memories of dealing with Kirei's wardrobe. That would never repeat again.  
  
They landed at one of XuLien's ports. Apparently, she had ports in every colony and on Earth. Then they headed off into the science techincian laboratory building. They're clothes were covered with white lab coats that they borrowed from a storage closet they had found. They blended in perfectly, especially with Wufei's intimidating stature and XuLien's natural intelligence radiating from her, which was enhanced by a pair of thin black wire-rimmed glasses. The only problem was that, they carried no ID which would indicate their authority. Without the ID they would not be able to enter the main computer room.   
They came across the door, where an ID card slide and code number pad awaited them. Wufei checked to make sure no one was within their corridor and nodded to XuLien, who set off to work. From inside her lab coat was another keypad with number buttons and a blank card attached to it with a wire. She pressed a few numbers and slid it through the ID slide. The red light switched to green. One system was breached. Next, she opened the code number pad and pulled out one of the wire's plugs. She replaced the plug with her own and joined it to her keypad. She pressed a few numbers and the doors slid open. In less that a second, her tools were hidden and the code pad was back in it's original stature.   
Wufei follow XuLien in, and as the doors closed behind them, he made sure that they would lock. XuLien pulled on a pair of gloves and got to work on the main computer.   
  
Time flied and XuLien still wasn't finished. "Damnit... all this security for one tiny measly chip," she muttered. Wufei, who was very bored, was starting to get jumpy.  
"Woman... any slower??" he demanded. XuLien glared at him.  
"Shut up," she said and went back to her hacking. Wufei paced around. "And SIT down you're making me nervous!" Wufei glared mutinously at the back of XuLien's head and sat on the floor, beginning to meditate.  
A few more minutes passed, and Wufei was pretty much deep in his meditation. XuLien gave a slight cheer of success. The chip's information was downloaded. They were finished! She got up with the burned disk tucked away. She stared at Wufei like he was some sort of alien. Then her expression softened a bit. He actually looked sort of... cute. She shook her head. What WAS she thinking?? 'Men equals BAD NEWS!' she reminded herself. Outloud she said, "I'm done but if you want to take a nap... I'm not waiting for you." With that she started walking towards the door. Wufei got up silently and followed her out.  
They went to discard their lab coats. So far they didn't run into anybody from security. As long as it stayed that way, it would be all right. But... luck doesn't last forever. They turned a corner and saw a security guard heading their way. With no place else to go, Wufei pushed her into the entry way of a locked door. XuLien started to protest but he brought his head down on her, touching her lips with his own, before a sound could be emitted from her.  
Wufei's heart pounded as he waited for the sound of the guard's footsteps. Then his mind started focusing on the feeling of XuLien's lips pressed against his. Animal instinct took over, when his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. He felt her hands pressed against the flat muscle of his chest. Adrenaline rushed through his system, when he felt her kissing him back. The scent of her hair, the warmth of her body, and the taste of her lips were driving all his senses crazy.  
His body and mind returned to reality, when he heard the guard chuckle and walk away, footsteps slowly fading. Reluctantly, he pulled himself away from XuLien. He turned away from her, and licked his lips, still being able to taste her.  
The trip back home was quiet. They didn't say a word to each other as they entered the house. Both headed up to their rooms. XuLien laid her bed, staring up at the ceiling. The kiss still burned on her lips. She could still feel him around her, still feeling the aftershocks of her pounding heart. Her fists clenched. "FUCK!! DAMN MEN!!" she cursed out loud, as she grabbed her pillow at flung it at the wall. 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12  
  
Daily life in the Winner household was never dull. There would always be something going on. Kirei spent most of her days hanging out with XuLien and Giovanna, though her nights were always spent with Trowa in the library. XuLien's nights were either work or parties. Giovonna's nights were usually spent in front of her laptop... and finding Heero next to her doing the same thing wasn't surprising anymore. Quatre was always randomly found doing some small favors for the girls, or big favors in XuLien's case and Duo bounded from the company of one girl to another in search of fun or help in homework. Wufei spent most of his time in the training room and found that he missed Kirei's company a bit, all the while, avoiding XuLien.  
School was more amusing. XuLien made it clear to her male classmates that she was out of their league and when they realized the Giovonna hung out with Heero, they steered clear away from her. It was strange to see him get so protective over a girl. Kirei was definitely off limits, being that Trowa almost lopped off one of their heads. They were content with their lifestyle, but who knew that it would be disrupted once again?  
  
The doorbell rang on a clear spring day. Quatre, being the host, went to answer. Duo's curiosity, which rivaled that of a cat's, peeked out of the living room to see who it could be. The door opened and the American boy's mouth dropped open. Standing in the abyss of the sunlight was the most gorgeous girl he had ever laid his eyes on. The female housemates were pretty too of course, but nothing like this one. Her shiny nut brown hair was pulled into a braid, longer than his own. Her light amethyst eyes were shining with cheeriness. Her light rose colored lips were curved gently into a small smile. She wore a powder blue chenille short-sleeved turtle neck, a black mini-skirt that flared over her mid-thighs, and blue sandals matching her top with sky satin ribbon on them. Suitcases stood beside her neatly.  
"M-may I help you?" Quatre asked, thoroughly confused. Before the girl could speak, Duo swept a dramatic bow in front of her. He took her hand and kissed it.  
"It would be my pleasure to serve such a beautiful lady like yourself," Duo said tastefully. The girl stifled a laughter.  
The three girls of the household swept down the stairs to see what was going on. Kirei and the girl stared at each other, thoroughly horrified.  
"Oh... oh dear..." Giovonna murmured softly. XuLien glanced at Kirei with a worried look.  
"Wh-what... are you doing here?" Kirei demanded. The unknown girl gave a small laugh.  
"Fancy meeting you here," she said with a cheery tone. "Had I known you'd be here... I still would've come!"  
Kirei narrowed her eyes. "They sent you here, too?" she asked. The other girl flipped her head back.  
"Of course they did. I am after all, one of the best they have," she said honestly but Kirei just scowled.  
"And how modest you are," she grumbled.  
"Kirei-chan... I don't know why you hold such animosity towards me when all I've done is try to be an amiable person to you," said the girl in an injured tone.  
"Wait a minute! Who are you?" Quatre demanded to know. Kirei scowled some more.  
"Her name is Miru Riven," Kirei said. The girl smiled.  
"I prefer Ruri. I'm American but adopted by Japanese people. Kirei and I used to have this big rivalry thing," she said cheerfully. Kirei scowled.   
Just then Heero came down the stairs saying, "You guys... we're having another girl sent here. I think that-.." He stopped when he caught sight of a strange girl.  
"I think that she's here?" Duo finished for him. Heero glared at him. Ruri smiled again. Trowa and Wufei stepped out of the training room. They looked at the girl questioningly.  
"My name is Ruri. I'm going to be staying here for a while," she answered the unasked question.  
"Great... just what we need.. another woman," Wufei muttered as he headed upstairs. XuLien glared at him. (a/n: I just realized how much glaring goes on in the damn household... such animosity!!)  
"What was that Wufei?? You damn prick!!" she yelled. The reply was the door slamming. Silently she fumed, for he had been ignoring her the past week. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was being ignored.  
Duo stepped up to flirt again. "Don't mind him. He's just a tad grouchy all the time. I'm Duo Maxwell. Why don't I show you to your room?" he said with a grin. Ruri complied. As they walked up the stairs Duo hissed to Quatre, "Where's the spare bedroom?"   
  
"I think you should just get a move on, and just try to be friends. She's really nice anyway," Giovonna suggested. The original three girls were gathered up in Kirei's room.  
"That's why I can't stand her! She's always smiling!! When we used to duel, I wouldn't have been so darn miffed when I lost if she just hadn't smiled every time and said, 'You'll win next time I'm sure.'" Kirei fumed. XuLien paced around the room, her mind off elsewhere.  
"Just get used to her... who knows? You may end up liking her," she said in a detached voice. She walked over to the door. "I'll catch you guys later. I got some business to attend to," she said mechanically, and left the room. Giovanna and Kirei looked at each other.  
"What was that all about?" Kirei asked. Giovanna shrugged.  
  
XuLien wandered down to the training room where she knew Wufei was working out. She leaned her ear against the door and heard nothing. She quietly cracked the door open and peeked through. She drew in her breath sharply when she saw Wufei in a combat stance, his Chinese sword gleaming brightly in his right hand. He was shirtless, wearing only his loose white training pants. Her eyes slowly scanned every part of his muscular back as he moved slowly and steadily.  
"Are you going to stand there all day?" Wufei asked in a unsurprised voice. XuLien jumped. Then she scolded herself for letting her guard down like that. She pushed the door all the way open.  
"I've been meaning to talk to you, mister!" she said in a tight firm voice. Wufei put his sword down nonchalantly.  
"That's funny because I haven't been meaning to talk to you," he said in a rather bored voice. XuLien stomped all the way into the room until she was directly in front of him. She jabbed at his muscular chest with a finger.  
"Listen! You've been avoiding me ever since you kissed me. One thing that I can't stand is being avoided. If you got something to say, say it!" she stormed. Wufei took hold of the hand that was jabbing at him and caressed it gently. XuLien stared at their hands surprised.  
"Did it occur to you... that I was avoiding you because I had nothing to say? If I had chosen to stay in your presence... I would not have been responsible for my actions," he said in a low voice.  
"What the hell are you talking about?" her voice slightly straining as his hand trailed up her arm and stroked her smooth cheek. Wufei bent over and gently pressed his lips against hers and pulled away a few inches. Something that she had ignored since the beginning of her teens stirred within XuLien.  
Wufei was surprised to see that XuLien close her eyes and tilt her head towards him, suddenly feeling the warmth softness of her lips on his. Slowly their lips molded against each other with passion as their arms made their ways around one another. A low moan escaped from the back of XuLien's throat.  
His arms wrapped around the short span of her waist and pulled her body against his firm muscular one. Her lithe arms found their way across the broadness of his back. Her parted lips welcomed his tongue and it danced heatedly with hers. Wufei groaned as he felt her warm curvy body moving up against him.  
Finally after what seemed an eternity the two parted. They stared at each other with passion and confusion. For the first time, Wufei was seeing XuLien as the beautiful woman she was. "Wufei," XuLien said softly. "What does this mean?'  
He thought for a moment. "I don't know," he admitted. He studied her face intently and spoke again. "But I'm willing to find out." 


End file.
